Precipice by shadowsong26
Original Author's Notes: As a note, the first section of this chapter involves Palpatine and Lavinia interacting (along with the new apprentice), which means it depicts child abuse. I'm trying not to be too explicit on the subject, or go into a lot of detail, but it's there.
Part 5: Lessons
Lessons: Chapter 4
Darth Infernalis was under no illusions as to his place in the grand scheme of things. He knew exactly what Sidious wanted him to be-an enforcer; an attack dog; someone to deploy when mere soldiers wouldn't make the necessary point. Someone to take all the active risks in combat, allowing Sidious his veneer of plausible deniability, so he could conceal his actual identity as a Sith Lord, and freeing him to explore the more mystical aspects of the Dark Side.
In short, Infernalis knew damn well he was being used to do the Emperor's dirty work. But, quite frankly, he didn't care.
For one thing, while he had always enjoyed violence, and even had a certain flair for it, until Sidious had found him in the mines, he had lacked the tools to really excel. And, he was unashamed to admit, he hadn't had the skill, control, charisma, or friends in high places necessary to avoid getting caught, either. Which was what had landed him in the mines in the first place-a stupid mistake, and the inability to murder or talk his way out of trouble.
For another, that's what all sentients did, in the long run. They used one another. No matter how many altruistic souls tried to claim otherwise. Besides, it wasn't like he wasn't using his master in turn-for an escape from the penal colony mines, for all of the skills and knowledge he was gaining, for the general broadening of his horizons, for the sheer destructive power he was now capable of wielding.
And, above all, for all those wonderful and increasingly frequent opportunities to actually use it.
Because Infernalis was one of those rare beings with the incredible luck of not only knowing what he was good at and being able to do it, but also enjoying it; not feeling compelled to do or be anything else. And, on top of that, he now had a mentor who was willing to help him reach his full potential. Taking a subordinate position and striking only where he was told was a small price to pay for what he'd already gained. Let alone what he stood to gain in the long run.
And so, he was content. At least for now. True, sooner or later, in all likelihood, he'd start to chafe at the bit and want more than the scraps Sidious was willing to share. But that was, according to the texts he'd been ordered to read, the tradition among the Sith anyway. And it was, according to Infernalis' own life experience, the way of things everywhere. Eventually, this arrangement would no longer be mutually beneficial, and one of them would try to kill the other, and either succeed or be killed in his turn.
But that day was several years off. Until then, Infernalis would learn, and obey, even when he didn't particularly want to. All in anticipation of those times when he was given his head.
Today, sadly, was not one of those times.
"Control, apprentice," his master reminded him. As he had done, multiple times, since pulling Infernalis from the mines. And it was probably his imagination, but Infernalis would swear that his fingers were still twitching from the last reminder.
And now Sidious had had to repeat himself again.
Things were not really going Infernalis' way today.
His assigned task was simple enough-there was a maze, deep under the Palace, full of twists and turns, false walls and deadly traps. Somewhere in that maze was Sidious' four-year-old daughter. Infernalis' mission was to find the kid and bring her back to her father, alive. Hers, he had been told, was to evade Infernalis and find her own way out.
It was, of course, also designed to pit the two of them against one another, make sure they viewed each other as rivals, rather than risking them allying against Sidious. Not that Infernalis really considered a four-year-old Human a serious rival or a viable ally, but-well, who could say where things would stand in a decade or so, for the two of them and their mutual lord?
Infernalis had won the game, of course. He'd spent the last decade finding his way around narrow mine tunnels, and while the hazards there were very different than the ones his master had constructed, he damn well knew how to handle a deadly maze. And, while they technically had about the same amount of experience with the Force and with this kind of exercise, there was simply no real contest between an canny adult and a little girl.
Still, the kid had actually managed to evade him for the better part of an hour. It turned out, especially given her age, Princess Lavinia was very clever at keeping track of the traps, and at least vaguely aware of where he was. Enough that she'd almost maneuvered him into one. Twice.
So, naturally, when he'd caught up with her, he'd been frustrated, lashing out as soon as he had his target in view. And then-
"Control, apprentice."
Infernalis blinked, halfway through completing his damned objective at last. And, at first, annoyed at the interruption, but-well, no matter how quietly his master spoke, that voice could cut through anything and grab his attention in an instant. Infernalis had learned early on that Sidious was never, ever ignored.
What is he-ah. Right.
It seemed that he'd gotten a little...overzealous. Damn near put the kid through the wall. Not exactly helpful for bringing a target in alive, as instructed. Her neck wasn't broken, at least, so he hadn't failed entirely.
He dropped her, and she remained in a little heap on the floor for a second, breathing hard.
"Up, child," Sidious ordered from behind her.
She shivered a little, and pushed herself to her feet. She wobbled, and grabbed onto the wall for support, but didn't fall over.
Infernalis flexed his maybe-twitching hand, waiting for lightning or any of the other tricks Sidious used when he was displeased with his protege.
But nothing came. Instead, there was a long moment of tense silence, broken only by the kid's slightly shuddery breaths.
"That's enough for today," Sidious finally said. "You may go, child. We will discuss your performance later. Infernalis, stay."
Tiny thing couldn't keep the relief off her face, as she sketched a wobbly bow in her father's general direction and stumbled off, leaving the two Sith Lords alone.
And then Sidious was silent for a moment more, studying him, which just ratcheted up the tension in the air. Infernalis clenched his fists and remained still, feeling the anticipation build inside him-worse, in its way, than the inevitable punishment itself.
"I don't need to tell you why you failed," Sidious finally said.
I didn't, Infernalis wanted to snap back, already frustrated by being left twisting in the wind for so long. I caught your brat, didn't I? Sure, I went farther than you wanted, but I didn't kill her, and I would have reined myself in without you.
But-hell, even without his more recent lessons, he'd been in prison for a decade. It took a lot less time than that, in the mines, to learn when it was and wasn't worth mouthing off at the guards.
And in a year and more spent learning from Darth Sidious, Infernalis had yet to find a time where it was. Besides, there was a lesson here, and he got the point- patience. Don't rise to the bait. Let the frustration and anger grow in moments like this, but always and only under his control.
Use your anger. Do not be used by it.
"No, Master," he said, instead, pleased with how even his voice managed to stay.
One clawlike hand snaked out from the shadows, resting on Infernalis' head. Sparking-threatening-but not unleashing the lightning. Not yet.
"There are times, apprentice, when I will need a hammer," Sidious said. "And there are times when I will need a blade. Do not confuse the two again."
"No, Master," he repeated, clenching his hand again to keep it from twitching.
Another beat of silence, and then, "I have a task for you," Sidious said.
This didn't mean the reprimand was over-almost certainly not; his master had a way of bringing up old lessons at the worst possible time, just to make sure they'd stuck. Still, a new task meant that was a problem for another day. And today was starting to look up, too. At the very least, it probably wouldn't involve any more chasing little girls through booby-trapped mazes.
Sidious' hand tightened, nails digging in just a little, drawing Infernalis' attention back where it belonged.
"Yes, Master."
"Two classified shipments have been interrupted," he said. "Find those responsible and destroy them."
Infernalis bit back a grin. Time to be the hammer then, I suppose. "I am the extension of your will, Master."
Sidious' mouth tightened under his hood in a sort of smile. "Yes," he said softly. "You are."
A thin shiver of sparks spilled down Infernalis' spine. He jerked a little at the pain, but didn't scream. It wasn't...wasn't the worst he'd ever gotten. Not by a long shot. Just-a taste this time. A reminder.
When it faded after a moment or three, Sidious and his hand and the lightning were gone, leaving Infernalis alone in the deserted maze; waiting for his thoughts to catch up so he could think through his new mission. His new opportunity.
He waited a moment more, then stood and stretched, still feeling tight and all out of joint in the wake of that burst of lightning. Details would be waiting for him by the time he got back to his room-where exactly these interruptions had taken place, any intelligence that already existed on the people responsible. Probably not what those shipments had contained. Not that it really mattered to him at this point. Someday, perhaps, it would. When he was ready to turn and bite the hand that fed him.
But for now, like the trained attack dog he was, Infernalis would hunt them down and tear them to pieces, and afterwards be bask in the glory of pure destruction, of a job well executed. A display of strength, power-a victory.
Just like that mantra he'd memorized, in his first weeks of training- Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
He popped his aching jaw back into place, and smiled.
Bail had gotten home in the late afternoon-several hours after he'd planned. He was supposed to have arrived fairly early that morning, before Breha got tied up in her usual meetings, but he'd been delayed getting off Coruscant and there were only so much time that could be made up in hyperspace.
Still, late afternoon meant that Winter would have finished with her lessons for the day, and he could spend an hour or two, uninterrupted, with his daughter. He headed straight for her room as soon as he got back to the Palace.
It wasn't often that he got the chance to surprise his family, coming home unexpectedly-almost all of his travel was very public and scheduled far in advance, and what wasn't usually had to do with fighting the Empire. So when he tapped on her door, and Winter turned around, and he saw the way her face lit up-
"Papa!"
I need to do this more often, he thought, as she barrelled into him and he crouched down to sweep her up in a proper hug. "Hello, precious," he said, and kissed her cheek. "Oh, I missed you."
"Missed you, too," she said, still clinging tight. "I thought you weren't coming 'til tomorrow, 'cause you weren't here at breakfast."
"Nope, I'm just a little bit late," he said. "Was your mamma worried?"
"Nuh-uh," Winter said, finally relaxing her grip a little. "She was kinda mad, though, 'cause she had those cakes you really like made special for breakfast, and they don't keep very well."
He laughed a little at that. "Hmm. Well, I am sorry I missed that, but somehow I think they got eaten anyway."
Winter flushed. "One or two," she said. They were her favorite, too.
"I'll find a way to make it up to your mother, either way," he promised her. "And to you, for being so late."
She shook her head. "You're home now," she told him. "For a while, right? That's what Mamma said."
"That's the plan," he confirmed. "And…"
"What?" she asked. "What, Papa?"
"Well, your mamma and I were talking, before I left to come home," he said. "What do you think about coming with me when I go back this time?"
He and Breha had actually been discussing that for a while, off and on. Winter wouldn't actually be in danger there, not any more than any other Senator's child, and it would be good for her to see a little more of the galaxy. Even the parts he had always wanted to shelter her from. However she and her eventual consort ended up splitting their responsibilities, these were things she would need to know.
Besides, he had perfectly selfish reasons for it, in that he wanted her with him as much as possible. Which wasn't nearly often enough.
"Really?" Winter said, eyes going wide. "I can really come?"
"Yes," he said, and hugged her again.
She threw her arms around him again. "Luke told me so many cool stories and I wanna see where you work and your apartment and-"
"One thing at a time," he said, kissing the top of her head.
"Okay," she said, bouncing a little. Clearly, that hadn't really done much to dampen her enthusiasm. Not that he'd really expected it to-he remembered being eight years old and promised a trip somewhere new and exciting.
"We'll talk to Mamma tonight at dinner, all right?" he said. "Work out all the details. And I'll be home for a whole week first."
"Even better," she proclaimed, grinning brightly up at him.
And he couldn't help but smile back, because he absolutely agreed-he was a little bit late, but he'd made it home, and he had a few days with both her and Breha, and nothing had exploded this week. Not yet, anyway; and he refused to borrow trouble if he didn't have to.
When this is all over, he promised himself, as he had so many times before, moments like this will be the norm, rather than the bright spots I look forward to. Even if I can't quite leave the Senate yet, if Mon and Padme still need me there; even if I'm still not home as much as I'd like-
"Papa?"
"Nothing, darling," he said, and hugged her one more time. "So, tell me. How have your lessons been going? Anything new and exciting this week?"
And then she was off, chattering about the history lesson she'd finished up just before he came in, exactly as he'd hoped she would. In far more detail than he remembered-but, then again, that was Winter's special gift, even if it hadn't been fresh in her mind.
He settled on the floor; she collected the datapad from her desk and nestled against him, calling up the map that had been the focus of her lesson. He held her close and let her voice wash over him as she explained it all.
This was what he wanted-all he wanted-for the rest of his life. For his family, for Padme and hers, for everyone. And even if, for now, it only came in moments, he would cherish them and make them last as long as he could.
And, as soon as this is over, as soon as Palpatine is gone…
In the end, what else was he fighting for, but this?
Original Author's Notes: ...yeah, I figured the chapter needed a nice unicorn chaser to make up for the first half ^^;; So, some light fluff with Bail that has very little to do with the plot seemed in order.
Thanks so much for stopping by! Next week's chapter as a whole shouldn't be this harsh, I hope...
~shadowsong